This blog was created and for use by the Kepong CSCQ Practitioners as a virtual community centre. Comments concerning the Kepong Station can be posted here. Notices of whatever nature concerning Kepong Station will also be posted here as well. Your participation and feedback are welcome. Let us together strive for improvements of health both physically and mentally.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

DO YOU WANT TO BE YOUNG ? DO YOU LIKE TO EAT PIG TROTTERS ? ( THEY ARE RICH IN COLLAGEN ! )

The latest anti-ageing food? Pigs' trotters. That's right, you heard it here first. In New York, the most talked-about new opening of the past couple of months has been a Japanese restaurant called Hakata Tonton, where 33 out of the 39 dishes contain pigs' feet.

The reason for this, according to its owner, Himi Okajima, is that they are rich in collagen, the protein responsible for skin and muscle tone, more recognizable to beauty addicts in the form of face creams and fillers..

"Collagen helps your body retain moisture," says Okajima, who has introduced a chain of restaurants specializing in collagen cuisine in Japan. "Your hair and skin will look better, but it's not just for looking beautiful now. If you begin eating collagen in your thirties, you will look younger in your forties.."

Maybe this sounds a little improbable ("It's news to me," sniffs Lisa Miles of the British Nutrition Foundation.. "I've certainly never heard of eating collagen." ) but Okajima believes he is on to something. Figures published last month show that British spending on cosmetic surgery is the highest in Europe, hitting nearly £500 million in 2006, four times more than in 2001.

Isn't there a cheaper solution? Couldn't eating the right foods, in the right way, be a simpler, and ultimately more long-term way to stay looking and feeling younger? "You are what you eat," says nutritional therapist Ian Marber, aka The Food Doctor.

"You can't turn the clock back but you can slow things down. Every cell replicates from RNA and DNA. In order to keep the DNA in good condition, you want to protect cells from harmful free radicals. And for this you need to eat fruit and vegetables, which contain vital anti-oxidants like vitamins A, C, E and zinc.

"It doesn't have to be expensive," he adds. "I know people go on about so-called 'superfoods' which have a greater concentration of anti-oxidants, but two apples a day will give you plenty of vitamins and fibre. You just need to ensure a varied diet."

"The key is to remember we're omnivorous," agrees nutritionist Christian Lee, who is the national trainer for the Dr Nicholas Perricone cosmetics and nutrition empire. "Have you ever noticed how women age more rapidly than men?

That's because they don't eat enough protein. The days you don't eat protein are the days you age. The body can't store protein, but it needs it for cellular production and function.

"At each meal you should be able to hold up three fingers and say 'I've got a good source of protein (lean fish or poultry, nuts, seeds or tofu); an essential fatty acid (Omega 3 or 6, so that's coldwater oily fish, flaxseeds, linseeds) and a low glycaemic carbohydrate (fruit, vegetables, and whole grains like quinoa, buckwheat and oatmeal)'. If you can say that, you're on the right road."

Perricone, a dermatologist, became America's most famous anti-ageing specialist with his "Three-Day Nutritional Face Lift", which extolled the virtues of eating wild Alaskan salmon twice a day, claiming its essential fatty acids would banish puffiness and tighten the skin. Uma Thurman, Heidi Klum and J-Lo are all fans.

In his new book Ageless Face, Ageless Mind, which has yet to reach the UK, Dr Perricone's team assert that up to 40 per cent of wrinkles are caused by dietary sugar.

"When you eat high glycaemic carbohydrates like bread, cakes and pasta, they turn into sugar in the blood so fast that the pancreas can't respond with enough insulin and the blood becomes saturated with sugar," argues Christian Lee. "The sugar needs to go somewhere so it attaches itself to the cell membranes.

When it does this to collagen molecules in the skin, it causes the collagen to become stiff and immobile and that's the birth of the wrinkle. The bad news is that it doesn't end there - the sugar then pumps out free radicals, causing a double whammy of damage.

The good news is you can prevent it - either by cutting out sugar or by taking a supplement of alpha lipoid acid, which is 400 times stronger than vitamin C and E combined."

So ditch the sugar, but don't forget the pigs' trotters.

FOODSTUFFS THAT KEEP YOU YOUNG

Spinach contains the pigment lutein, present in the retina, which helps maintain the health of the eye.

Tomatoes contain the anti-oxidant lycopene, which can protect the skin from UV damage from the sun.

Purple or red berries - such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries - are full of anthocyanins which can help protect against diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and help maintain strong arteries.

Oily fish, such as fresh water salmon, herring, mackerel and sardines, and also flax seeds and linseeds, are the main source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can delay the ageing process of the skin.

Carbonated drinks - along with tea, coffee, sugar, red meat and alcohol - can push the body's balance towards the acidic, meaning that alkaline minerals (such as calcium) are removed from bone stores to balance it, weakening the bones. Restricting them may help you keep stronger bones.

Nightshade vegetables - potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, aubergine and peppers - while often healthy in other respects, contain a chemical that studies suggest can activate pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Avoiding these foods may help reduce it.

Refined carbohydrates - such as white bread, white rice, sugary cereals, pasta and noodles - contribute to the development of type II diabetes, which accelerates the ageing process and, if not controlled, can lead to a wide range of other health problems.

关于我们 About Us

Name: CSCQ Kepong Station

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

中国鹤翔庄气功简称鹤功，我们是一群鹤功的爱好及修炼者，我们的练功时间：每星期一及四从晚上八点至九点半，地点是甲洞帝沙华文小学之食堂前。欢迎各界参与我们的练功活动，请光临多多指教。
We practice twice weekly on every Monday and Thursday from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm at our station located at SRJK (C) Taman Desa Jaya, Jalan 31, Taman Desa Jaya, 52100 Kuala Lumpur. You are welcome to join us in our practice.

The practice of Qigong is for the strengthening of our body and curing of diseases. To make it effective, we will have to satisfy the following 3 requirements:

(1) We must have trust. Firstly, we must have trust in ourselves and secondly, we must have trust in Qigong. Qigong is a science that explores the secrets of our human body and life messages.
Its special effects exploit our bodyâ€™s potential and bring about self curative measures. We will have to trust ourselves in the use of Qigong practice for the curing of chronic diseases. Believe that through persistent and consistent Qigong practice, these diseases will certainly be cured together with the improvement in the quality of our physical body.

(2) We must have determination. We must not be afraid of hardship and tiredness. In times of difficulties, we have to stay firm in our determination to overcome all difficulties. We must be determined to bring positive results to our Qigong practice. Overcome the little time we may have owing to our busy work schedules and household chores.
Especially when we encounter recurrence of the diseases we used to have due to the flow of Qi in our Qigong practice, we must stay firm and continue the practice without interruptions.

(3) We must be persistent. Qigong practice needs persistency and perseverance in order to achieve good results. Do not simply interrupt the Qigong practice or stop practicing when we feel better.
This brings about the wastage of our previous efforts as when the genuine Qi in your body is stopped when it is about to work. This may also cause blockages in the meridians and channels. As a result, the diseases recur. Believe that Qigong will never let you down and success will eventually arrive.
Be persistent in our practice for several years and good results will be achieved.
Do not be in a hurry to achieve success as the negative may result. There is no such thing as "once and for all".